Mansion
by darkaccalia520
Summary: Birthday gift for ReadingBlueWolf. Jack's old feelings creep up again; how will he deal with them? One-shot. *COMPLETE*


**A/N: This is a birthday present for ReadingBlueWolf.**

 **Disclaimer: The Nightmare Before Christmas and its characters are not my creation; they belong to Tim Burton. I am only borrowing them for a bit and promise to return them unharmed and in their original condition, maybe just a bit happier.**

 **Mansion**

It had all started after last year's Halloween. Jack knew it was bound to happen again. He'd desperately tried to keep it at bay: that old feeling from deep inside his bones, that aching restlessness he just couldn't shake. He'd suddenly found himself in a rut and he couldn't fathom how to get out of it, though he wore a brave face so as not to worry Sally.

She hadn't yet noticed his sadness, and he intended to keep it that way. However, on Sandy Claws' yearly visit, Jack confided in him while they were sitting together in the den.

"I just can't get rid of this ache in my bones, Sandy. I just feel...trapped."

Sandy nodded in understanding. "You've been there before, though, and I don't mean the year you took over Christmas. Don't you remember you hit this same rough patch about five years ago?"

Jack scratched his chin. Had he? "I don't remember that. How did I get out of that mood?"

"Now I'm showing my age when I say _I_ can't quite remember, but it had been right before Christmas, so I'd gotten very busy...too busy, admittedly, to check up on you again until after the season ended. You'd seemed right as snow then, though. You didn't hijack any more holidays, did you?" he joked.

Jack forced a laugh and held up his hands. "No, my days of holiday high jinks are over. Halloween is my place, but... Why does this keep happening?"

Sandy shrugged and patted his skeletal friend on the back. "I can't say." He pulled some candy canes out of his pocket. "Will these help?"

"Thank you," he muttered, accepting the sweet treats, "but I don't think they'll be a cure."

"I could send you more snow? Some Christmas gifts? Tinsel? Ornaments?" Sandy offered.

Jack shook his head. "I appreciate the thought, but..."

"It's not enough," the jolly man finished with a sigh. "Well, give it a couple weeks and talk to Sally. As soon as you start planning for next year's Halloween, you'll forget all about this silly nonsense."

"I'm sure you're right, old friend." Only Jack didn't feel very confident about that. Still, he smiled as Sandy let him in on some of the exclusive Christmas secrets he'd had planned for this year and then the jolly man in the red suit was on his way.

"See you next year, Jack!" he called.

"Next year, indeed," Jack replied quietly before turning to Zero. "Perhaps a walk would help me clear my head. What do you say, boy?"

Zero yipped happily and wagged his tail, confirming the idea.

Jack patted him on the head, and the pair headed into the lab to find Sally. She was always working on some experiment or another. He knocked before hearing her gentle voice say, "Come in."

He pushed open the door and saw her workstation full of various test tubes and pieces of herbs strewn about.

"It's my latest creation," she announced proudly. "A new kind of Halloween candy the kids will just eat up." She held up a tray of multi-colored squares. "Try one. I call them Sally's Scrumptious Sweets."

Jack obediently picked up a blue square and popped it in his mouth. It tasted like blueberries. "It's delicious, dear, but what is the-" Suddenly, there was a poof of smoke and the floor became much closer than it was prior. He looked down and noticed green webbed feet and instantly knew what happened. He opened his mouth to speak and, "Ribbit," came out.

Sally laughed. "It only lasts for a few minutes. Each color is a different creature. Orange is a slug, red is a worm, green is a rat, and blue is a frog, which you found out. I'm still working out a few bugs, but they should be perfected in time for next year's Halloween. What do you think?"

"I think they're absolutely amazing," Jack replied once he'd turned back to his skeletal form. He'd meant it, too. If there was one person who could always put him at ease and bring a smile to his face, it was Sally. "What are the kinks?"

"Stick out your tongue."

Jack did so, and Sally held up a mirror. His tongue was pink and purple gingham.

"It seems to be temporary, but I'd like to make it go away a bit quicker. She stuck out her tongue, which was orange a red plaid. Mine's been this way for a week."

Jack laughed softly. "Well, there could be worse side-effects."

"Let's just hope we don't find out," she teased. "So what did you need?"

"Nothing much. I was just coming to tell you that Zero and I are going for a walk."

A brow rose. "A walk? You only do that when..." She eyed him carefully. "Are you feeling all right?"

"Of course I am. I promise."

After a few seconds, she nodded and kissed him on the cheek. "Have fun, then."

"We'll be back soon."

 _-NBC-_

As he and Zero walked, Jack found his mind wandering even more about his problem. He had so many regrets about Halloweens past. So many things he could have done, should have done. But the truth was, he felt like everything he'd tried had been done before.

Why couldn't he be like Sally and create some brand new candy? What a simple idea, but how ingenious! Or why couldn't he be like Sandy Claws and be jolly all the time?

Why was his reality riddled with all this despair? Why could he just be content with what he had? Why couldn't he just...

It suddenly hit him. "Zero, I've never gotten better. Even after I'd hijacked Christmas, I wasn't better. I'd simply pushed these feelings down...locked them away and tried to ignore them." He paused. "I wonder, could I do that again?"

He put on a smile. "I'm happy. I love my life just the way it is. I'm so happy, I could dance." And he did a little jig to prove his point.

Zero barked and nipped at his ankles.

Jack stopped dancing and sighed dejectedly. "I don't think it worked. I don't feel any happier." He shrugged and pulled out one of his ribs to toss for Zero. "Well, the other option is to admit my feelings to someone else."

He shook his head. "Well, the mayor is out; I think I'd send him into panic attacks. In fact, there aren't too many who would understand what I'm going through...except Sally. But she...she hasn't felt this way in years. Not since... And if I told her, what could she do?"

"Jack, I know how you feel, but you just need to embrace your Halloween spirit again," he muttered in his best Sally voice. He nodded, sure that's what she'd say. Not only that, he'd just make her worry, and he didn't want that either.

"No, I must push these feelings back inside, lock them up tight and close the door. My insides will be filled with rooms no one can unlock, a mansion of pain. If not for me, for Sally and everyone in Halloween Town. I can't disappoint them, make them worry. This is my problem, not theirs."

Zero barked at his feet, and Jack bent down to pick up the rib bone again. "It's the only way, isn't it, Zero? I know one day, these feelings will force their way out again, but I'll just have to do it again. And maybe one day, I won't need to do it anymore."

He threw the bone, to which Zero barked again. Though Jack knew he was barking for the bone, he told himself Zero was agreeing to his plan. If it took him all night, he'd get back to normal...at least enough where no one would suspect a thing.

 _-NBC-_

Hours later, he arrived back home. Sally had a lovely supper waiting for him of fish bones and rotting garbage. "My favorite," he gushed.

She smiled and took his hand, leading him to the table. "Are you feeling better now?"

"I wasn't..." He thought twice and nodded. "Yes, I am, dear." _Though it sometimes gets lonely inside my mansion._


End file.
